


Patterns Repeating

by alyse



Category: Jurassic Park III (2001)
Genre: Character Study, Domestic, M/M, Romance, Vignette, Yuletide Treat, quiet moments
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-24
Updated: 2017-12-24
Packaged: 2019-02-19 17:59:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13128933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alyse/pseuds/alyse
Summary: It's been years since Isla Sorna, but people never learn.





	Patterns Repeating

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SapphicSatan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SapphicSatan/gifts).



> For QueenMabb, who wanted Alan and Billy's reaction to Jurassic World.
> 
> Happy Yule!

It’s still early when Alan wakes, the sky outside shifting into pale shades of rose and gold as the sun rises over the horizon, but even at this hour the air is hot and still, weighing down his limbs. 

Or maybe that’s just his age.

He groans and reaches for Billy, not surprised when his searching hand comes up empty. The sheets are cool – or at least as cool as the day will allow – so Billy has been up for a while, but that doesn’t stop Alan from searching the trailer hopefully as he drags himself up from the uncomfortable, cramped bed, hoping for a glimpse of Billy’s affectionate grin.

The trailer remains resolutely empty, but scattered across the work surface by the small sink is the debris that Billy’s morning routine has left behind – an abandoned coffee mug, that Alan would lay odds had been left unwashed, and a copy of the newspaper. 

So Billy has been and gone. 

Alan smiles, finally dragging his sorry behind off the mattress and ignoring the way his hip and knees click as he stands up. It’s the bed that leaves him this stiff, that’s all, no matter how much Billy teases him about the noises his joints make, or the groans he lets out when he stretches his spine after a day of digging in the earth.

Billy’s probably already out there, setting up the site for the day’s students. It’s been close to fifteen years since Alan took him on as a grad student, and over a decade since Billy’s been able to put phD after his name and the title ‘Doctor’ in front of it, but he’s still as excited to be out there, down in the dust and dirt, as the first day he bounded up to Alan and introduced himself, all bright eyes and brighter smile.

Of course, Billy’s doctorate would have been completed sooner if it hadn’t been for Isla Sorna.

The coffee sitting in the pot is still hot, and just the right strength to give Alan the kick he needs to start the day. It’s the good stuff, too, and Alan’s smile deepens. Billy hasn’t woken him up with pancakes and coffee for a while now, not since this whole thing between them was shiny and new, but he’s still indulgent enough to brew Alan his favourite coffee and fetch the morning paper before he sets out for the day. Billy, of course, reads the news on his phone, while Alan sticks to a phone that does what it's supposed to – makes calls.

His affinity for technology hasn’t improved over the years. Billy teases him about that, too. 

He takes another sip of coffee, relishing that taste of it before he reaches for his glasses and the paper, in that order.

The paper’s already open, and when he sees the headline screaming up at him, the taste of coffee turns to ashes in his mouth.

-o-

He finds Billy up on the ridge overlooking the primary dig site. Billy hears him coming – he can tell from the way that the tension slowly leaches from Billy’s spine – but he doesn’t turn around. He doesn’t even glance in Alan’s direction until Alan is standing next to him, staring at the site below, and even then it’s a quick once and away.

It’s left to Alan to finally break the silence.

"I can’t believe they’re doing it again."

The corner of Billy’s mouth turns up in a mirthless smile. "I can," he says. "Money talks, sanity walks."

Alan sneaks a glance at him, trying to read the weather of Billy's mood in his face. His eyes linger for a moment on the silvery scars winding around Billy's neck and disappearing into his partner's collar, but Billy doesn't call him on it.

He's not stupid enough to think it's because Billy hasn't noticed.

"Are you okay?" he asks, because in spite of his outrage, his disbelief and his fury at the stupidity of those behind the new park, that is the most important question.

It's the only question. It's just a pity Alan took so long to realise it.

The smile that Billy gives him this time is more genuine, warm if a little warn around the edges. "I'm fine," he says, but his fingers drift up to his throat and give lie to his words. His hand drops and he shrugs. "It was inevitable, right? I mean, people love dinosaurs and the technology exists. Can't close the Pandora's box once it's open."

"They're not dinosaurs," Alan objects automatically. "They're –"

"Theme park monsters?" Billy's tone is mocking, but there's still an affectionate current underneath his words. "You don't really believe that, Alan. You haven't believed that for years. Not since…"

"Isla Sorna." He says the words that still cause Billy pain, and the skin around Billy's eyes tightens fractionally. Alan smothers his instinctive wince – he's had years of practice, and Billy can be as prickly as Alan can under the right circumstances.

There's nothing right about these circumstances.

"They're just animals, Alan. Just… giant, dangerous, smart…" Billy's familiar grin starts to form on his face. " **Awesome** animals. But at the end of the day, so are we."

He doesn't know who Billy is trying to convince, but given the gentle tone in Billy's voice, it's probably him. 

He huffs, but the sound isn't impatient. "They've had their time," he says, but it's an old argument and it's long since lost its heat.

Billy lets out a sound, something that's not quite agreement but isn't quite a rebuttal either. "Maybe we have, too," he says, and Alan can't really argue with that. Not that that's going to stop him from trying, but there's a time and place and this isn't either.

"Well," he says dryly instead, "I'm pretty sure repeating old mistakes is one way of speeding up our extinction."

"Maybe," Billy says noncommittedly, and then he leans in towards Alan, knocking their shoulders together affectionately. "But we're not dead yet."

"No." This time he doesn't worry about letting his eyes linger on Billy's scars; instead, he reaches up and traces the lines on Billy's neck with a gentle touch before sliding his hand around to cup the back of Billy's neck. "We're not."

His fingers sink into the hair curling at the nape as he tugs Billy forward.

Billy leans into the kiss, his eyes closing and the last, lingering tension fading from his body.

A car horn blares and startles Alan back into the present, the exultant whoop of this year's crop of post-grads leaning out of the battered pick-up truck bringing red rushing to his cheeks. Billy doesn't care, though; he sketches out an amused wave as the truck bounces past, dust flying up in its wake as it makes its way down towards the site and its designated parting spot.

"We should probably make them search the entire site on their hands and knees," Alan grouches, ignoring the amused smile that Billy shoots in his direction. "Make sure they haven't missed anything."

"Oh, I'm pretty sure they didn't miss anything." As if to make the point, Billy leans in again, kissing him so thoroughly that Alan's head spins.

He's pretty sure that's nothing to do with the altitude.

Billy's eyes are dancing when he pulls back, but there's something kind in their depths, and maybe something slightly sad. 

"It's going to be a complete clusterfuck," he says, raising his eyebrows in a way that shuts Alan up as soon as he opens his mouth. "But this new park – this… Jurassic World… It's not going to open for a few years yet, and when it does, we'll just have to make damned sure that we don't go anywhere fucking near it, no matter what kind of research money is being offered. Okay?"

Alan nods, letting his fingers brush gently over Billy's cheek in spite of their interested audience. "Deal."

He doesn't say that he has everything he needs here. He's never been great at that kind of thing, but Billy smiles anyway as though he just knows. 

His fingers brush Alan's as he steps away, turning to yell down at the students milling around below.

Alan watches him go, and tries not to remember.

-o-

In the end, it is a complete clusterfuck, but there are bones to coax from the earth, and a never-ending stream of students to train.

And Alan keeps his mouth shut when Billy deletes the news apps from his phone.

the end


End file.
